A start safety circuit of this type in the case of a hand-held work apparatus is disclosed in United States patent application publication 2009/0193669. A control device checks the status signals of a plurality of sensors in order to switch off main or ancillary units of the work apparatus as a function of their switching states. It is thus inter alia proposed in the case of a non-rotating drive motor and a disengaged brake unit to switch off the ignition, so that it is not possible for the internal combustion engine to start. This requires that in order for the control system to intervene in an appropriate manner it must first detect that the drive motor is not rotating. In the case of a non-rotating drive motor, electrical energy is required in order to detect the operating status and to evaluate the signals of the sensors; this electrical energy can be made available, for example, by way of a battery.